Looking for Mortgage Financing in Mexico? There Are Now Some Attractive Options

June 12, 2008
Mérida, Mexico

Hola Mexico Insiders,

Not everyone can afford to pay cash when they buy a property in Mexico. I was reminded of this anew as I was researching some properties in Mérida recently, like a fully renovated, two-bedroom, two-bath with pool and parking for $165,000, or a small hacienda on the road to the beach town of Chicxulub for $150,000. Properties like these are great deals for the money—but it’s still a lot of cash to fork out in one lump sum.

If you’re looking to buy a property in Mexico and want or need to get mortgage financing, fortunately, I’ve got a couple of great options for you.

Ellen Fields, an expat in Mérida, spoke recently at International Living’s Ultimate Event in Cancún. While she was there, we learned that Ellen has started a new business—she’s joined forces with fellow Californian (and Mérida-based expat) Alfonso Galindo as mortgage brokers. Their firm, Mortgages in Mérida, helps a buyer find the best loan for his or her circumstances, and then negotiates the paperwork to get the loan and the property closed. Both Ellen and Alfonso are bilingual—extremely helpful in situations like this where documentation is needed in both languages.

Mortgages in Mérida can write a home mortgage loan for a property that costs as little as $10,000—and there’s no maximum. For mortgages on homes in the Yucatán area, Ellen and Alfonso can offer a rate of about 8.75%. In addition to traditional home loans, where the house being purchased is collateral, Ellen says they can offer some nontraditional solutions as well—for instance, using stock as collateral, or using IRAs or Roth IRAs. This kind of flexibility is great for potential expats who may not want a traditional mortgage and who have other assets they’d like to leverage.

Bancomer, one of the largest Mexican banks, is also targeting the expat market. For U.S. and Canadians Bancomer offers home mortgage rates from 7% to 9%, with a minimum loan amount of $100,000. These loans aren’t available in all Bancomer branches; rather, the bank has set up a network of “specialty loan centers” in many of the major expat havens, including Cancún, Playa del Carmen, Guadalajara, Ajijic, Mazatlán, Puerto Peñasco, and Acapulco.

For those interested in further information, here’s how you can get in touch:
Mortgages in Merida, Ellen Fields (Ellen@mortgagesinmerida.com) and Alfonso Galindo (alfonso@mortgagesinmerida.com); website: www.mortgagesinmexico.com. (Please mention that you heard of them through Mexico Insider.)

Bancomer, tel. 1-800-823-1320 for information and a complete list of the specialty home loan centers for expats.

Happy house hunting!

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Best regards,

Glynna Prentice
Editor, Mexico Insider

P.S. Want the skinny on just what paperwork you need to file to buy a property in Mexico—and the one person who needs to be involved to make the deal legit? You can find out in Mexico Insider. Find out more here.